Erik Schlopy was living the life of the ski star last Saturdayin Aspen. He went to physiotherapy to get the kinks out, givinghis ski sponsor's serviceman time to wax his skis and clean hisboots. Later he signed posters bearing his likeness beforereturning to the lodging the U.S. ski team had provided him: alarge room with a kitchen, stereo and fireplace. The first timehe saw his digs, says Schlopy, 29, "I was sure I'd walked intothe wrong place. Things used to be a lot different."

After a season in which he placed third in the World Cupstandings in giant slalom--the best finish by a U.S. man in thatdiscipline in 18 years--Schlopy, the team's best technical andleast conventional racer, has earned such pampering. This seasonhe has won two slaloms, at Nor Am races in Loveland, Colo., onNov. 15 and 16.

Growing up near Buffalo (and later in Stowe, Vt.), Schlopy wasskiing when he was 18 months old and on the national team at 18years old. He won U.S. titles in giant slalom and Super G at 19.At the 1993 worlds in Japan, Schlopy, an inexperienceddownhiller, had a horrific crash in downhill training,puncturing a lung and suffering fractures in his back, ribs andsternum. He came back to make the '94 Olympic team, but afterfeeling increasingly unhappy with U.S. ski team officials, heleft the team in '95 to join the World Pro Ski Tour, a rebelcircuit that featured head-to-head races on short courses withseven-foot jumps.

"They called it the Roach Motel of the ski world," says Schlopy,who had to take care of his own lodging, transportation andequipment. He won a world pro title in 1996-97 but grossed lessthan $100,000 in three years on the circuit and spent it all onexpenses. In the winter of 1997-98 he slept in a closet at acondo in Waterville Valley, N.H., that he shared with eightSwedish racers.

That year Schlopy joined forces with Dean Nicholas, a68-year-old Romanian-born engineer turned counselor who hadworked with other athletes. Nicholas became a second father toSchlopy, giving him what Nicholas describes as "a road map forhis life." Nicholas prescribed a diet rich in soy, coaxedSchlopy into becoming an optimist and altered his balance onskis until, Nicholas says, "Erik could fall in love with histoes inside his boots."

Schlopy requalified for the U.S. team in '98 but was ranked solow that in World Cup races he skied with the also-rans on snowthat earlier competitors had reduced to icy ruts. He was $30,000in debt. At Apex Mountain in British Columbia in January '99, heleft his $30-a-night hotel to go for a jog, spotted a motel enroute with $19 rooms and promptly moved to the cheaper place.

On the snow, though, Schlopy's improvement was significant. "Histouch on the snow, his transitions between turns--he doesn'tlose anything from one rut to the next," says U.S. teammate BodeMiller. "He does it with such fluidity."

Respect from top skiers came grudgingly. "When we trained withthe Austrians," says Schlopy, "I would see [two-time Olympicchampion] Hermann Maier, but he wouldn't see me." By the timeSchlopy placed fourth in a World Cup giant slalom in Park City,Utah, a year ago, Maier had taken notice. "Maybe we have to stoptraining together," Maier said after the race. "His time comes."

Since then Schlopy has hired an agent, made more than $150,000,gotten out of debt and become engaged to Nnenna Lynch, a formerRhodes scholar who ran for the U.S. at the world cross-countrychampionships from 1996 to '98. The wedding will be sometimeafter the Olympics, at which Schlopy will be a threat to win amedal in slalom and giant slalom. The honeymoon spot should be anice upgrade from the Roach Motel.

Sarah Hughes ShinesLast Skater Standing

With precision rarely seen even in figure skating, the U.S.ladies' singles team, the most talented in the world, has takenan early-season synchronized tumble. Michelle Kwan has lookedclueless while going coachless. (She and Frank Carroll split inOctober after nearly 10 years together.) Sasha Cohen landed onlytwo jumps in her first long program, at Skate America inColorado Springs in October. And Angela Nikodinov lost herlongtime coach to cancer on Nov. 12. Only 16-year-old SarahHughes, the world bronze medalist last spring, behind Kwan andRussia's Irina Slutskaya, seems better off than she was at thestart of the season.

Hughes placed second to Kwan (and outskated her, in the eyes ofmany skating observers) at Skate America, beat Kwan andSlutskaya at Skate Canada in early November, and won the longprogram in placing second at the Lalique Trophy in Paris twoweeks later. Hughes has two strong triple-triple combinations inher long program, and she's following the mantra of her coach,Robin Wagner, to "draw the audience in" by showing more emotion.

"She's become very musical and lyrical," says Dick Button, theskating guru and two-time gold medalist. "I like her spirals.She has a layback spin that doesn't stop. She's a completeskater."

This summer Hughes practiced a triple Axel in a harness beforeshe and Wagner decided it was neither consistent enough nornecessary for a program that was already technically robust. Inthis season's splat-filled climate, a safe strategy is a soundone for a contender whose stock is rising.

COLOR PHOTO: SIMON BRUTY During the last World Cup season Schlopy established himself as the U.S. team's best technical racer.